Unexpected Consequences
by redflame1020
Summary: Kit is asked a question, and is left with a delemma. Can he put aside his feelings to help Nita find love of her own? Language and violence warning in ch7. UNDER EDITATIONS, temporary hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Kit wasn't an athlete, and he had never claimed to be either. He had never understood why people would run, sweat, and bleed just to toss a ball through a hoop or shoot a puck into a goal. Nor did he understand why people worshipped athletes like gods, they were just more coordinated than the average person, big deal! That wasn't a reason to obsess over them as though their every action would determine the fate of the universe. So then why was he suddenly involved in the love life of a certain varsity all-star soccer player? It could have something to do with the fact that Rafael had just asked Kit if Nita was single, and if she was free this Friday night?

"Kit?" Rafael inquired gently, snapping Kit back into reality.

"Sorry," Kit responded quickly. "Just a little blindsided by your question."

Rafael didn't seem surprised by Kit's reaction. He actually looked as though he had expected Kit to be acting like a blubbering idiot. Kit couldn't help but wonder what Rafael was doing; one of the most popular kids in school was not only talking to one of the geekiest social outcastes, but also inquiring about a possible romantic relationship with an absolute nerd. Not that Kit thought that in a bad way; Nita's academic nature made her Kit's best friend (and his secret crush), but it didn't make her popular by any stretch of the imagination. Kit feared that Rafael's supposed feelings for Nita were all just part of a prank which would leave Nita hurt. A pessimistic viewpoint, but a logical one which at the moment seemed all too plausible.

Rafael opened his mouth as if to speak, then shut it. After a couple of seconds he started to speak once more.

"Kit," he began, "I know you of all people have no reason to trust me. To be honest, if I were you, I'd never let me within a hundred yards of Nita. I know I have a reputation as a ... ladies' man to, but this is different. She's been my lab partner for the last couple months, and at first I kept thinking 'Great, a nerdy smart-ass partner, easy A' but she wouldn't let me get away with that. She's quiet and all, but when she decides to do something she won't let anyone or anything get in her way, and she had decided I needed to do some work in this class. She made me try to be a better person. " Kit smiled to himself, for that sure sounded like his Nita, always fighting for what she believed to be right.

"But that cool part came later. Once I started actually started working, if I didn't understand the material she'd help me out. One day I was desperately cramming for a math test the next period, and she noticed I was struggling. But instead of ignoring me or mocking me, she stopped what she was doing and explained it all to me better than my teacher did in the first place! She then started helping me out in other subjects, as long as I kept working hard."

Kit felt the flare of anger in his stomach. He stated coldly, "So you want to date her so you can have your own personal tutor to ensure you pass junior year?"

Rafael started, surprised at such a harsh accusation coming from a boy whom he hadn't said a word to since middle school. "No! It's not like that! It's just, when Nita was helping me I noticed how much crap people give her, and yet I'd never her say a bad word about them behind their back. She can be so sweet and funny too, though it's a very subtle and sarcastic kind of humor. I can't even begin to compare her to any other girl I've met, never mind dated! I guess I'm trying to tell you I think she's really special, and that she completely fascinates me." Here he paused once more and looked Kit dead in the eye.

"However, if someone else already had a claim on her love, I would hate to interfere with that. If she liked someone else, someone who was really close to her, I'd leave our relationship as is. I have done a lot of things, but I have never and will never steal another man's girl."

Kit realized that Rafael believed the long standing rumor that he and Nita were secret lovers. He paused, torn between two desires. Though the rumors weren't true, he did have feelings for Nita, and he liked her a lot. Plus he had a score to settle with Rafael that he had never acted upon, but the anger at Rafael's past actions was still there. Kit wanted nothing more than to send Rafael running, tell him that Nita was dating someone and that he should just walk away. But there was one thing holding his tongue: he didn't know what Nita thought of this boy. He had heard her mention Rafael in passing, but they had been on errantry a great deal in the last few months, and hadn't had a lot of time to simply hang out. No, he couldn't risk sending Rafael away only to find out that Nita had liked him. Their friendship might not survive such a devastating blow to their trust. Kit had to let Rafael have his chance, even if Kit had been planning on asking Nita out himself in the near future.

"She's single," he stated, then walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

_Bring!_

Thank god for the final bell Kit thought as he packed up his books. He glanced quickly at his notebook before he tossed it into his bag, noticing how few notes had been written in it that day. The words he had scrawled on the pages had nothing to do with school and everything to do with love. Kit had been trying to plan out how to tell Nita how much he liked her, and yet all the words and phrases he had been able to produce sounded corny and clichéd, certainly nothing he could show to Nita.

As Kit moved out into the hall way he couldn't help but sigh, feeling depressed at the thought of his competition. Not that Nita was a prize, but he couldn't just let Rafael go up and ask her out without trying to present his case and win her heart, especially considering what Rafael had done to Kit in the past. And yet, for all the Kit disliked Rafael, he couldn't help but feel outclassed. Rafael had dated an innumerable number of girls, while Kit had never been on a date. If Kit was asked to place a bet on who would get the girl, he'd put his money on Rafael every time. Yet he had to have hope, otherwise he would never get up the courage to ask out the girl of his dreams.

Why hadn't he asked her out before this? He had meant to ask her out in the fall, but they had been on errantry after errantry, to the point where it seemed as though they were more likely to be found off planet than on in the last 5 months. The very force that brought them together all those years ago was now keeping Kit and Nita from becoming closer, and the irony was not lost on Kit.

"Hey!" Nita called out to him, her grey eyes sparkling. Though her Star Wars t-shirt was two years old, and her jeans had dirt stains at the knees from working in the garden, Kit thought she was the cutest thing he had seen all day.

"Hay is for horses," he shot back as they started the walk home, smiling as she rolled her eyes.

"I cannot believe you just said that. I haven't heard that line since the second grade, and for good reasons!"

"Are you saying my joke wasn't funny?"

"Ah, how to phrase this? Yes!"

"You wound me. Truly, I think you just broke my heart."

The banter continued as they walked, and when there were breaks in the conversation they simply enjoyed each other's presence. It was Kit's favorite time of the day, a time when he and Nita cold just be, without having to worry about the rest of the world for a couple minutes. But Kit noticed something different today. Nita would often look distracted, and her responses came slower than usual, as if she wasn't fully engaged in the conversation. Finally Kit commented on her strange behavior as she stared into space, seemingly having not heard the question he just asked her.

"Hello, Earth to Nita. Come in, Nita." He stated sarcastically. Nita seemed to snap out of her reverie to look at him ruefully.

"Sorry about that, I just have a lot to think over right now." She told him softly.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Nita looked at him and sighed, "This guy I know asked me a question I don't have an answer to."

Kit felt his blood run cold. Rafael had beaten him to the punch, and he had missed his chance. No, no, no, no. It's not like Rafael was the only guy in the school to ever ask Nita a question, it could be anyone asking about anything. He had to keep up hope.

"Well, when I'm faced with a question I don't know the answer to, I just give a long winded answer with a lot of figures and data tables and big words so that it doesn't matter wither I'm right or wrong, people just think I'm smart."

Nita laughed at this, and Kit was glad to have put a smile on her face. "Kit," she finally managed to say, "It's more of a yes/no kind of a question."

Kit raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes and no can be made very complicated."

Nita sobered at this. "Yes, they can be. Especially when it comes to guys. You think you know someone, and that you understand their relationship with you and how they feel about you, then all of a sudden they decide to change it and try to be more."

Kit's worst fears were slowly being realized. Rafael had asked her out, and she might just say yes. But he had to have confirmation of his suspicion, he couldn't bare not knowing the truth. "Nita," he started, "Nita, what were you asked?"

She stopped and looked him dead in the eye. "You know of Rafael, right? Tall, blond, handsome, a great soccer player?" Kit could only nod, not trusting his voice. "Well, we've been working together in science for a while know, and he just asked me out."

**A/N I know this is a little slow right now, but the action will pick up soon. Trust me.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey girl!" Rafael called to Nita as he strode to her side, looping an arm around her shoulders as he changed his pace to match her own. What yesterday felt like a friendly greeting was now loaded with something more, for she could tell he wouldn't mind holding her a little closer.

"Hey."

"So, do you have an answer for me?" He sure does get right to the point. Though others might think that he just wanted to get his yes so they could go neck in a corner, she could see something else in his eyes. He was nervous, and was attempting to hide his nerves under a facade of gaiety. Nita had thought about her response all night, and had gotten no closer to an answer. Nita liked Rafael, but a part of her had always thought that Kit would one day ask her out. But Kit had had years to make his move, and in front of Nita stood a kind sweet boy who liked her, and wanted to spend more time with her. Those nerves Raf tried so hard to hide made up Nita's mind.

"Not an answer, but another question. Are you free Friday night?" Rafael's face broke out into a huge grin as he picked her up and spun her around, putting her down only to plant a kiss on her lips. Shocked at his reaction, Nita could only stand there grinning while Raf turned to the students that had started staring at his ebullient reaction. He raised his hands up above his head and shouted, "I'm going out on a date with Juanita Callahan!"

Nita's checks flushed red as she tried to inch away into a class room, only stopped by Raf's presence at her arm. "Where are you getting off to?" He inquired. "Tired of me already?"

Nita looked around, and realized she and Raf were still the center of attention, to the point where teachers had started meandering down the corridor to ensure that no trouble was breaking out. She had to get out of here, student were going to start talking soon, and then they'd start mocking, and then the jeering would go on for weeks. She could almost hear the taunts now. "Hey Raf, let's get out of here, ok? We can talk later."

Raf looked at her funny, still not letting her escape to the safety of a classroom. "Nita, what's wrong?"

"Raf., I don't want to do this here…"

"Nita! Please!"

Nita couldn't believe this, thirty seconds into a relationship and they were in the middle of their first argument. She remembered a passage from her Manuel that mentioned that wizards had harder times maintaining regular relationships than a normal person, mostly due to the ease in which the Lone Power could interfere in the tenuous trusts created by romance. She took a slow breath, and tried to ignore the part of her that just wanted to walk away from this in a huff. She dimly heard the belling ringing, but she knew she had to deal with Raf now, before the argument got out of hand.

"I'm just not used to being in the public eye, I guess. I don't want people talking about me behind my back, and most of all I don't want to be anything other than 'That smart girl in my English class whose name I can't remember.' I don't want to be in the gossip mill, or the center of attention, or the social butterfly. I just want to be Nita Callahan. Just Nita." She looked Raf dead in the eye, hoping he would understand where she was coming from.

"I understand," Raf confessed, "My little demonstration made you uncomfortable, right?" Relief swept through Nita like a wildfire. Maybe there was hope for them yet.

"Yes, it did."

Raf shot her a cocky grin, "Well, I hope you understand where I'm coming from to. I had to make sure all the other men in this school…"

"Boys!" Nita corrected.

"…know you're off the market. I can't have someone else come and steal you from me, can I?"

"Like anyone would want to. It's not like….oh shoot."

"What are you two doing out here?!" It was Mr. Thomas, the head of the English department and a former Marine. Needless to say, he loved the rules. And he loved to punish those who broke the rules. Without giving them a chance to respond he bellowed, "NO EXCUSES! Get to your classes before I detain you!"

Nita and Rafael muttered a few incoherent excuses as they quickly turned the corner and sprinted into their science classroom. After a mild chastising by the teacher, they proceeded to their seats and sat quietly listening to the lesson. But as Nita took her notes, she felt fingers slowly entwine around her freehand. She glanced at Raf from the corner of her eye, only to catch him staring at her. Blushing she turned her focus back down to her papers, trying to at least pretend she was trying to learn. However Raf would have none of it.

"I'm not distracting you, am I?" He whispered covertly, barley audible. Nita tried to play it cool, shrugging her shoulders and whispering back,

"Not at all. In fact I forgot you were here at all." To take the sting out of her words she shot him a smirk and leaned a little closer to him.

"Since we are indeed in class, I'll try to make this short and sweet. Where do you want to go Friday night?"

After a moment to think, she turned to him and said, "Let's go to see a movie."

"Which one?"

"_Twilight_."

Nita thought time couldn't have moved slower. Who knew it could take so long to go from Wednesday afternoon to Friday night? But now that the day was finally here, time was moving much too fast for her tastes. She needed help. She would normally ask Kit, but he had been surprisingly distant in the past few days. Besides, he probably wouldn't be much help with this anyway. So who could she ask?

"Dairine!" She shouted, as she ran down the stairs in her bath towel, "DAIRINE!"

Her sister sat up slowly from the coach, removing the IPod speakers from her ears. "What do you want, Nita?" her sister responded slowly. "What could you possibly want?"

Nita stopped and thought about what she was doing. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no," she muttered, than yelled, "Never mind!" and then ran back up the stairs.

"NITA!" She heard Dairine yell, and heard footsteps on the stairs behind her. Nita quickly shut her bedroom door behind her and locked it, having changed her mind about wanting her sister's advice in this. She wasn't that desperate yet.

"Nita! Open the door or a swear I will!" Nita briefly considered trying to convince the lock to open for no one but herself, and then decided she didn't have the time to spare. She cracked open her door to see an irate Dairine.

"Yes?" Nita said in response to her sister's wrathful gaze.

"You come storming downstairs while I'm in the best part of my book, screeching for my help and attention, and then you barrel away like a bat out of hell. Well, you asked for my attention and now you've got it. What could you possibly need on a Friday afternoon that Kit can't give you?"

"I don't have anything to wear."

After explaining to Dairine her relationship with Raf, and the subsequent suggestion of a movie, had Dairine laughing for minutes. When they were both refocused, they stood in front of Nita's closet in a rare moment of sister bonding. After a few moments Dairine said, "Wow, you weren't being melodramatic. You really do have nothing to wear."

They gazed into the closet, which was filled with T-shirts, jeans, ratty old sneakers, and two highly formal dresses- one that Nita wore to her mother's funeral and the other that she had worn to the semi-formal. There were no skirts or blouses, chinos or polos, and nothing that screamed 'first date!'.

"You know who could help us out?" Dairine finally suggested.

"Who?"

"Carmela."


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh, this could look good and OH MY this looks just like you, go try that on….God, such short notice!"

Nita felt more than a little confused about what 'Mela was doing. She glanced over at Dairine, who looked just as confused as she did. Nita decided since she had asked Carmela for her help she should take it, and started to change every time Carmela told her to, no matter how crazy the outfit. About a half hour into the 'help' session, Nita still had no idea what she was going to wear. She'd already vetoed any outfit involving neon colors, half-nakedness, Japanese lettering, or mini skirts; leaving her, Dairine, and Carmela standing in front of Carmela's closet dumbfounded.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I have no more cloths for you to try on," 'Mela said, flabbergasted.

"I still have nothing to wear on my date," Nita stated, slightly in shock.

"I don't know what I'm still doing here," Dairine said, before turning to take her leave. "Oh, hay Kit." Sometime in the midst of the chaos of trying to dress Nita, Kit had stumbled in on their fiasco, and stayed to amuse himself...or torture himself, he wasn't quite sure which. Seeing Nita trying to impress another boy wasn't exactly the highpoint of his life.

"I'm going to have to cancel. I can't go wearing NOTHING!" Nita was looking more than slightly crazy by this point, and Kit didn't blame her. This date would be the talk of the school by tomorrow, and everything she and Rafael did together was going to be picked apart and judged. But for all he hated her choice, he was still her friend, her best friend. Kit had to help her. He wandered into his sister's room, and briskly picked up a few items.

"What about this?" He inquired, and all three women looked at the cloths he held up.

"That just might work," 'Mela said in awe.

The outfit did work. Nita wondered how they could have missed it. She had put on blue jeans with a simple white collared blouse with a three-quarters length sleeve, and put a vest on over that. The vest was the highlight of the outfit, with its dark green color accented by a light green embroidery of a line-art oak tree on the back. Simple? Yes, but very Nita. The only piece of jewelry she wore was her 'charm' bracelet and her watch, which she was buckling to her wrist as she checked the time.

"Oh crap, I'm late! Raf has probably been waiting at my house for ten minutes! I've got to go guys, thanks so much for the help!" On that note Nita quickly used a Beam-me-up-Scotty spell and disappeared, leaving in her wake a conflicted Kit.

As she appeared in her room, she heard someone downstairs, and she quickly flew down the stairs, only to plow into Rafael who had been about to come up.

"Where's the fire?" He joked as they pealed themselves off the floor.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry. How long have you been here? How did you get in?"

"I knocked on your door for ten minutes and I was getting worried. So I went around to the back door, which was unlocked, and I let myself in. I thought you were murdered or something!"

"No, I'm not yet dead.i"

"Why didn't you answer the door then? I haven't scared you away already, have I?"

"Uh," Nita fought to come up with a good excuse, and preferably one that wouldn't involve lying. "I was listening to music really loudly, and couldn't hear a thing," which was sort of true for Carmela had had Japanese rap blasting before Dairine had forced her to turn it off.

After a quick run back up to her room to get her keys, Nita rejoined Raf and they went out to walk to the local movie theater.

"Why do you want to see this movie anyway?" Rafael asked, a slightly confused look on his face. "You didn't seem to be a Twilight fan."

Nita smiled, for she had been wondering when he would get up the nerve to ask her. "I read the book series, and it was good, don't get me wrong. And, yes, Edward is an awesome character if highly depressed, but you're right, I'm not obsessed with the books or the movies. I want to go and see the movie to laugh at the ridiculousness of it and have a laugh about the super fans."

She watched as recognition dawned on his face. He must have thought for days he'd have to watch the chick flick and then have to claim to like it. He shot her a fast grin before saying, "This could be fun."

KNKNKNKNKNKNKNKNK

"And that girl, who screamed every time Edward came on the screen! She was HILARIOUS!!!"

"Did you see how she glared at us when we laughed at the 'serious' parts that were so melodramatic?"

"Oh my god, yes!" They were ambling back to Nita's house with ice cream cones in their hands. After the movie they had headed to a little café where they ate dinner and bought dessert. Nita had been surprised at how easily the conversation flowed, and how at ease she felt with Raf. He was nothing like the stuck up jock she thought he was in the beginning of the year. It turned out he had loved to read when he was little, but peer pressure had driven him to stop. Also, Raf's father had played minor league baseball for a long time, and on the eve of being drafted to the majors, the man had blown out his shoulder and could never pitch again. Needless to say, Mr. Santos pushed Raf to pursue sports to the utmost degree. Nita almost pitied Raf for his popularity, which stemmed from accomplishments Rafael might not have wanted to achieve.

"Someone's thinking hard," Raf laughed out.

"You think this is thinking hard? This is musing, I haven't even broken out logic or any of my debate skills yet."

"You debate with yourself?"

"You see, I'm just so much better than my competition the only person that stands a chance against me is myself!" By now they'd reached Nita's front door, and they pause outside of it, neither wanting the date to end.

"I had a nice time, thank you." Nita said quietly.

"It was my pleasure," Raf said, tucking an errant curl behind Nita's ear. He then drew his finger slowly down her cheek, stopping under her chin and sending shivers down Nita's spine. He took a step closer to her before lifting up her chin and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. He pulled back slightly and looked her in the eye, before leaning in to kiss her once more, this time with a passion. Nita leaned into his touch, wrapping her arms around his neck as his slid around her waist. After some time Raf pulled back with affection in his eyes.

"I guess this is where we say goodnight," he murmured.

"I guess it is," Nita responded slowly, reluctance in her voice.

"Are you free next Saturday?" Raf inquired.

"As far as I know."

"Good, because my uncle is a paleontologist working out of the Museum of Natural History, and he has offered multiple times to let me and friend into the museum back rooms during the day and then the exhibits after closing."

Nita looked at him incredulously, "Are you serious?!"

"Yes."Nita planted a solid kiss on his lips.

"I can't believe this, the back rooms! What's back there?" She exclaimed, ecstatic over the opportunity.

"Some research labs and a lot of storage where they keep the extra specimens. There isn't nearly enough room in the main museum to show the entire collection, so there are a huge amount of pieces that aren't available to the public eye." Raf smiled at her, and started walking down the steps, holding onto her hands until he absolutely had to let go. "I'm really glad you're excited about all this. I'll see you in science tomorrow, yah?" With that he walked into the shadows of the night.

i From Spamalot


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The Tarahumarans are a real ethnic group in Northern Mexico; there was a National Geographic article on them sometime within the last year.

On my profile is a link to a pic of a line art tree similar to what I imagined the Nita's embroidery to look like.

A HUGE Thank-you to my loyal reviewers, who keep me optimistic enough about my story to keep writing! Hope you enjoy this installment!

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Kit couldn't stay in bed forever. But he could try. He had already cleaned his room, cleaned his closet, finished his homework for a month, completed his chores, reorganized his other-space pocket, and couldn't think of any more distractions. And so he lay on his bed spread eagle, staring at the ceiling and praying for a respite from boredom. His life was dull without Nita.

Not that he wasn't still seeing her around! They still saw each other in the halls, chatted a little on the phone, but she spent most of her free time with Rafael, leaving Kit with boredom and his classmate's not so subtle inquiries. If he was asked one more time if Nita was cheating on him, he just might send someone to Vhlatrich 8, where humans were a delicacy. He smiled, imagining Rafael trying to charm his way out of being invited to be dinner. Maybe he could make up a little song and be reclassified from a dessert to dinner and a show!

_Jealous much?_ He thought to himself.

_I am not jealous!_

_Really?_

_Really._

_OK, but that looks like a lie from where I'm standing_

_I'M NOT LYING!!!! Wait…. Why am I arguing with myself? Wonderful, I have created an entirely new level of pathetic._

_Do you/we honestly think we're the only ones to have ever argued with ourselves?_

_Well, no, I mean, wait. I'm not going to do this. No more arguing with myself, NONE! Do you understand me?!_

Luckily he never got answer.

And so Kit laid on his bed some more. With his mind idle, it was constantly wandering back to thoughts of Nita and Rafael. The thought of Nita being happy made him happy, but only to a point. He wished he was at her side, making her smile and hearing her laugh. Nothing gave him more joy than being around her, and the loss of that contact was leaving a gaping hole in his heart. He heard a knock on his door, followed by the squeaking of hinges as it opened.

"Still moping around I see," Mrs. Rodriquez said as she leaned against the frame, still in her scrubs.

"I wouldn't exactly call it moping." His mother shot a wry grin in his direction before sitting on his bed, gazing at him with those piercing eyes of hers. More than once Rosalina Rodriquez had reminded Kit of a lioness, her life revolving around caring for the pack known as humanity, but always making sure her own cubs got fed first. Her concentration and dedication knew no bounds, and Kit often thought she deserved better than what life handed her. If she had been born in the US instead of Northern Mexico, and to a rich family instead of poor Tarahumaran farmers, who knows what she could have been? When Kit looked at him mother, and looked hard, he could see the echoes of her difficult past in her movements. She fed her family with the generosity of one who has felt the bite of starvation, she worked with the drive of someone who had walked miles in the cold wind and freezing rain to find food and shelter, and she loved with the passion of one who had watched too many die young. Kit loved his mother with all of his heart, and respected her more than anyone else he had ever met. Thus he could never withhold something from her if she asked for it.

"Kit. What's going on?" Mrs. Rodriquez pressed, gently but firmly.

"Mom, Nita has a boyfriend." Mrs. Rodriquez was more than a little surprised at this, she had always beleived Nita liked her son, but then she had never claimed to understand the teenage mind. Meanwhile, her son continued. "And can you guess who, out of all the boys in the school, got up the nerves to ask her out? Rafael. Rafael Santos. I'm sure you remember him as well as I do."

Astonished, his mother replied, "The boy from middle school? That's who Nita's dating?"

"Yah," was Kit's only reply, though he seemed to grown more dejected with every word.

Frowning, Mrs. Rodriguez said in a tone dripping with disappointment, "I thought she had better taste than that. I hope she gets her brains back soon." Pausing, she then turning to her son, "You did tell her about the history between you two, yes?" Kit's face told her all she needed to know.

"Kit, you need…"

"I need to do what mom," Kit snapped, sitting up straight and looking her square in the face. "Tell her how much I hate her new boyfriend, how he tormented me for years and how I don't think he's changed an inch since the last time he beat me up? Come off looking like the jealous, petty friend who feels like they have been cast to the side? No. I won't interfere. I can't interfere without risking everything else I have with her."

Mrs. Rodriquez looked at him with an air of disapproval, one of an intensity Kit hadn't seen in a long time. Her expression clearly stated 'I thought better of you and expect better judgment than this'. She stood up, and stalked over to his door, looking over her shoulder and saying, "And I guess a real friend would sit back and let a girl they've known for years make a huge mistake without even trying to warn her." With that she shut the door behind her, leaving Kit just as conflicted as he was before.

KNKNKNKNKN

Dinner was tense that night. Kit didn't have an appetite, and so he just pushed his food around his plate, not wanting to incur his mother's wrath by asking to leave the table. Ever since their conversation, his mother had been on the edge (in what his father had nicknamed 'Dragon Mode') and the male portion of the family was trying to keep her placated. Carmela, however, appeared to be PMS'ing, and was itching to start a civil war. Kit just tried to stay out of the way and avoid the cross fire. Mr. Rodriguez, in an attempt to lighten the mood, said, "Well, how was everyone's day?"

Carmela was the first to answer, and started talking about how Nita had come over for fashion advice before her date. Kit had a feeling this was a bad topic of discussion, and confirmed his theory with one look at his mother. She had paused with her fork half way to her mouth, and was simply staring at her daughter, incredulous at what she was hearing. However, it was Mr. Rodriguez who was the first to interrupt Carmela.

"Wait, Nita's dating? Since when?"

"Since a couple days ago, darling," Mrs. Rodriguez said quietly, "And she's dating Rafael Santos."

It was apparently too much to hope that his father didn't recognize the name, as Mr. Rodriguez actually dropped his spoon in surprise.

"Rafael Santos as in _that_ Rafael Santos?" Mrs. Rodriguez could only nod. "I thought the girl had more sense than that."

"I thought she did too. Though, I'll admit, Nita doesn't know the entire story because our youngest child decided she didn't need to know." Suddenly Kit, who had still been attempting to execute his stay-out-of-the-way plan, had two irate parents looking at him expectantly.

"I, uh, I had a good reasons that…"

"No," Mrs. Rodriguez said forcefully. "No excuses. I think you need to tell her everything the next time you see her. She doesn't deserve to be left in the dark." Turning to her husband she asked, "Do you agree with me?"

"Yes," Mr. Rodriguez said without hesitation. "I wholeheartedly agree."

Kit had to find some way out. Unable to think of one, he decided stalling was the best option. "Uh, it is the weekend and she has things to do and all, so I really won't be able to talk to her until Monday."

"Fine, but make sure it gets done." With that, Kit thought he was in the clear, at least till Monday. By Monday he could have a plan, or even better, Nita could have dumped Rafael because she hated their date! Kit's cheeriness didn't last long however. Someone rang the doorbell, and Carmela, anxious to get away from the table, jumped up and ran to get it.

"Hello?" Carmela opened the door to reveal a smiling Nita.

"Hay. Is Kit home?"


	6. Chapter 6

Kit wasn't quiet sure where he stood on this whole Nita-yelling-at-Rafael thing. He closed and locked his locker, only to realize he had grabbed the wrong books. Then, upon trying to unlock his locker, he tried three times to put the correct combination in. Needless to say, Kit was more than a little distracted by the scene down the hallway. There, not 20 feet away, stood Nita, in all her irate glory, and Rafael, who was looking surprisingly defensive. Kit couldn't remember a time when Nita had ever been as infuriated as she was today, and couldn't help but smile to himself about the tongue lashing Rafael was receiving.

Feeling like an interloper in a personal moment, Kit couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene before him. Nita's entire body was tensed like a snake preparing to strike, her mouth pursed, and her foot tapping out a staccato rhythm on the floor. She suddenly snapped out a retort at Rafael, her eyes punctuating her point with well placed glares. Rafael slowly drawled out a response, with the slow and cautious motions one might use when trying to placate a wild animal on the attack. When Nita opened her mouth to deliver another verbal beating, Rafael quickly inserted one last comment, causing Nita to step back in surprise. Her head whipped around to stare at Kit in disbelief, and then she turned on her heal and stalked away down the hallway. Rafael watched her go, his face turned away from Kit, and Kit wished he could see what expression was playing out on his features. Suddenly Kit found himself looking straight into Rafael's eyes, which were dark with rage.

Be careful what you wish for, he though wryly.

Upon meeting Kit's eyes, Rafael's face shifted suddenly to an expression of quiet friendliness that Kit had seen on other faces in the past, and he had grown to fear it over the years. The amicability of the appearance was perfect for luring victims into a false sense of security. As soon as Rafael was within speaking distance Kit made the first move."You can stop pretending you like me now that Nita's out of sight."

"I thought we had put aside our differences. Apparently I was wrong," Rafael responded icily.

"Very," Kit stated with equal warmth. "You only ever asked about Nita. You never asked me if I had problems with this whole arrangement. Did you honestly think I would let someone like you near her?"

"I thought you were honorable enough to give me a chance," Rafael snarled. "And for a while it seemed like you would."

"I tried. Believe me when I tell you that there are few people in the world who want to give out second chances more than I. Yet some things are unforgivable. I thought time had healed my wounds, but I was wrong. What you did, or, rather, what you didn't do, can never be forgotten nor forgiven."

Rafael could no longer look Kit in the eye. In the midst of Kit's diatribe his posture had changed dramatically, the anger in his eyes replaced by regret, shame causing him to slump as though a heavy burden had been placed on his shoulders. Slowly, as though the words caused him pain, he uttered, "I have always regretted what I did to you. Always. But recently I realized a couple things about myself, and I found it in my heart to forgive myself, mostly because I thought you had already forgiven me. I won't continue making that assumption." Rafael started to walk away, and paused a few feet away. He stared down the hallway to where they had last seen Nita.

"I really loved her you know. I wish….I wish so much." The bell rang, but both Kit and Rafael remained where they were, Kit feeling a surprising amount of pity for a boy he had every reason to hate. "God, Kit," Rafael continued, "I thought I had a chance with her, and then you showed up from out of the blue and screwed up all my plans."

"Believe me," Kt replied, "When I tell you I know exactly what you're talking about."


	7. Flashback

**A/N I am assuming Kit got his wizardry at the end of his eighth grade year/ the beginning of the summer before his freshman year. I don't know if this aligns with Diane Duane's timeline, but I don't have access to my books right know, so I'm keeping it as is. With my timing, this means the incident below would have happened about 2 years before the main story line.**

***Flashback- Kit's 8****th**** Grade Year***

Kit sat in the back corner of the class, trying desperately to stay invisible. Today was special, the last day of school before winter break, and this the last class. Everyone was excited, overjoyed for the coming holiday season. That is, everyone except Kit. Sure he loved winter break, who didn't? There was Christmas and New Years, you had the chance to sleep in, and because school is out you're not getting beaten up every other day. But Kit couldn't be happy about the holidays until he was home, safe and warm with a huge glass of hot chocolate in one hand.

Kit hated the last day of school before any break for one simple reason: no afterschool activities. Thus the entire student population gets let out at once, sent out into the cold as one giant mass of jocks, cheerleaders, bullies, chess nerds, and thespians; all mingling due to the same schedule. This means that the jock who steals your lunch money everyday can now join in with all his friends afterschool to kick your ass, an event he has missed all year due to sports practices. Kit would have to spend his entire walk home looking over his shoulder.

The last bell finally rang loud and true, and Kit made an honest effort to be merry. He pushed his way over to his locker, then followed the crowd out the doors and onto the sidewalks. The wind ripped through the thick layers student had on sending shivers up spines and causing many to huddle deeper into their coats. A blizzard was forecasted to hit later that night, and Kit couldn't wait to watch the new snow fall. First, however, he had to get home safe and sound.

Kit set a brisk pace home, partially to try and lose any potential tails, but mostly because it was _cold_ outside. He decided to take a circuitous route home designed to avoid places where he knew bullies laid in wait for some 'entertainment' to walk by. However, no route was foolproof, and Kit needed to stay alert around a couple of areas to avoid conflict. While he passed through the most without trouble, the weather was constantly draining his energy. Bundled into his jacket, Kit never looked up as he entered the final danger zone, not five minutes from his house. He was thrust against an alley wall, as Robert Montgomery leered over him.

"Well, what have we got here, boys?" Rob taunted, speaking to the ring of boys behind him, who Kit realized were either drunk or high, and maybe a few were both.

"Just a little know-it-all punk," replied Thorsten Buviaba, who towered over everyone else at six foot seven.

Rob leaned even closer to Kit, who could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Do you know what we do to know-it-alls?"

Kit couldn't resist getting in one jab before the beating started, "Ask them to tutor you so you can finally pass the first grade?" Infuriated, Rob swung hard, hitting Kit in the jaw. Pain flared out from the contact point, and as Kit paused for a moment in agony, he was tossed into a whirlwind of punches and kicks. Desperately covering his face to try and avoid a serious head injury, Kit was helpless against the maelstrom.

Yet in the blink of an eye everything stopped, and Kit heard Thor call out to someone at the alley opening. "Yo, man, what the fuck are you staring at?" Ignoring the pain in his ribs and shoulders and arms and…well, everything, Kit sat up a little and opened up his eyes, though quickly re-shutting one because it was swelling badly. He saw a boy he sort-of knew standing there, backlit by the sun. He tried to stand up, only to be met with a vicious kick from behind, slamming his face into the ground. He felt something crunch in his nose, and he hoped it wasn't broken. The strange boy made a sound of protest at this, and stepped forward as if to intervene. Rob cut him off, pulling something out of his jacket pocket. Kit saw the light glance of it, and he realized it was a knife, long and deadly.

"Raf, man, I asked you what you were looking at." Robert growled out. "Cause I don't see nothin'!"

Rafael Santos, the rising star of the soccer team, stared at Kit, bloodied and bruised, for a couple of second which seemed to last for hours. He finally stammered out, "I…I'm looking at nothing Rob. I saw nothing." He turned his back on the scene and ran off around the corner. Kit felt the slim glimmer of hope that had been growing in his chest die a sudden death. He watched in fear as Rob slowly turned around, returning his attention to the inert form before him.

"Now, where were we?"

_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_

Kit lay, cold and broken, in the alley. The smell of vomit and garbage overwhelmed him, but he couldn't get up the energy to move. He had decided hours ago (or was it minutes?) that even if he tried to stand up, he wouldn't be able to, his ankle being painfully swollen from a well-placed stomp. Like a marionette whose strings had been cut he lay where he had been left, abandoning any connections to the world of pain and light around him, and falling into the dark warmth of unconsciousness.

_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_

"_Oh my god, there's a kid back there!"_

"…_20 ml of a saline…"_

"_Put him in room 24B, yah?"_

"_Dear God, please let him be ok"_

" …_Mi señor, por favor, si tiene alguna misericordia, que mi hijo estará bien y llevar a los servents del infierno a la justicia antes de que su santo trono…."__1_

"_Sh, Rosa, he'll be ok, don't cry, mi amor"_

_kit…Kit…."_Kit,_" _Kit was trying to open his eyes, he was trying. They were just so heavy, weighed down by some invisible force. He finally managed to crack them open, only to quickly shut them against the harsh white light. He heard clothing rustle and then felt the gentle touch of a hand cupping his face. "Juan," the same voice said, "I think he's waking up!" His mother. His mother was here.

"Mom?" Kit choked out, his voice rough. He fought to open his eyes, and he finally looked up into his mother's face, lines of worry etched onto her face.

"Here, _mi hijo_, drink this." She pressed a glass up to his lips and he felt the cool water slide down his throat, quenching a dry soreness he hadn't even realized was there. A slightly larger hand was placed on his shoulder, and he turned to see his father, who looked as though he had slept in his cloths the night before. Kit continued to look around the room, and quickly realized that only one place had these kinds of rough sheets, thin mattresses, and stark white walls; the hospital.

"Papa, what…." Kit couldn't figure out where to start.

"Tranquila, los niños, you're hurt. You were unconscious for a long while, then you woke up for a couple minutes about nine hours ago. You fell asleep right away, and the medicos said to let you sleep. You were hurt badly." Loud knocks echoed through the room, and the door opened to reveal two police officers, there to collect Kit's statement. Kit handed over all the names willingly, and decided to press charges, though he wished there could have been some other way. He couldn't bear to get beaten up this badly again, and he feared he would be for turning snitch, but he couldn't let them get away with it either. Sooner or later they would have ended up killing someone, and Kit wouldn't have their blood on his hands. No, he had to do the right thing.

His mother told him to take comfort in the fact that those "terrible, awful people" would soon face justice. But Kit could think of someone who wouldn't, someone who had had the chance to do the right thing and had chosen not to, simply because it was the easier path. Kit abhorred the idea that not only could someone walk away from another in need, he himself could be the perpetrator of such an action in the future. As Kit pondered over the duality of his own soul, the Powers That Be took an interest in him. Marking him out as a candidate for wizardry, they moved on, and in their place another moved in. Where the Powers had sowed the potential for incredible good, the Lone One planted the seeds of hate in the back of Kit's consciousness, seeds which would not sprout till later in his life, but with consequences reaching farther than many could imagine.

1Translation: My lord, please,if you have any mercy, let my son be ok and bring those servants of hell to justice before your holy throne.


End file.
